As a kid, I always wanted an alien where I was under the misconception that an expensive brand name computer was what you needed to play games as an adult.

I've learned this was untrue.

Yet the Alien West systems I was mesmerized by up until my late teens are now available at a fraction of the original price, and I just couldn't help myself.

So today I purchased this the Alienware M 14 X At the time of its launch in 2000 and 11.

This particular configuration would have cost you around $2000 or £1800 though the cheapest model started it just over a grand.

I pay £250 for this one about the price of some of the cheapest entry level laptops on the market today, with other near identical examples of the M 14 ex retailing in similar condition for up to 400 immediately, I should point out that, yes, we have built more capable gaming systems for less.

And considering this thing's time specifications by today's standards, the Alienware name really does help retain resale value.

I mean, they're always tons of bids on eBay for these machines, no matter the specs.

That being said, don't misunderstand that previous statement for my justification of purchase.

Truth is, if you want one of these, then you'll still be likely paying over the odds for what the components inside actually worth.

In this case, those consists of an Intel core.

I have 7 26 30 Q m clocked at two gigahertz and in video GT 555 m and eight gigabytes of DDR three.

The process of features four cause and eight threads and Turbos up to 2.9 gigahertz.

It also sports integrated HD 3000 graphics.

Now it's easy to hear the words or letters I seven on numbers on immediately think excellent.

So I ran sin a bench to see exactly where these things stands today, and it seemed to completely multi core test in quite a snappy fashion.

And in the end, I saw high score of 375.

After three rounds that all came in differently.

I'd say that's likely a similar score to what you could expect from, say, a modern day I 3 41 30 desktop CPU.

That's an estimate, though, and, of course, one based just on a sinner bench result.

When it comes to gaming between the CPU and GPU, I can say for sure it won't be the process are holding us back?

The GT 555 them, on the other hand, features 1.5 gigabytes of Dealey are three memory on?

Well, in theory, bottleneck the ice seven.

They will have to confirm my suspicions later on in the video, I'd say, as a desktop equivalent, the Mobile 555 here would probably trade blows with the GT 4 40 But come on, doesn't this thing look good?

Even most gaming laptops today, a quiet begin heavy.

So I was expecting this thing toe weigh a ton.

And although it records a weight of £6 or 2.7 kilos, it doesn't feel that awkward to carry around.

You wouldn't want to drop it on your toe, though.

Put it that way.

As I'm sure you know, it isn't uncommon for batteries on laptops to get significantly weaker over time.

And with a veteran gaming machine like this, I expected to have to run it on charge permanently, but to my surprise.

Under normal usage conditions, I was able to get two and 1/2 hours out of it.

That browsing time was also pretty pleasant.

The laptop still feels snappy under Windows 10 thanks to the aging but still quick ish I seven and everything was done in comfort.

The keyboard seems more spacious than it is, if that makes sense and the hold rubber keys feel great under the fingertips, despite the aforementioned size.

If you're using it up to a table or desk, then it feels wonderfully sturdy and well built.

And it's a far cry from the feel of some plasticky and hollow modern budget laptops.

Aesthetics wise.

If you like RGB lighting, then you've come to the right place.

When you turn it on with the alien head shaped power button, you better believe that lights up the hard drive.

Activity like doubles is the aliens eyes, so don't use this thing in a dark room unless you plan on hosting a rave.

The Alienware logo under the screen also displays a red hue and these sort of jewel scale designs that look like speakers but aren't showing green throughout your usage time.

The keyboard even spans the entire spectrum of the rainbow.

And to someone like me who doesn't really care for RGB.

Sorry, everyone.

I actually find it really cool looking.

Thanks to Alien, Where's command center app?

You can customize all of it as well, and even have a different profile for each game you play.

Sounds like a nice gimmick, But unlike speed stripes on a car, none of these lights up components give you extra horsepower.

And if you are considering one of these, that's what's important.

So let's get into some games.

So this laptop has a Native Scream resolution of 900 p, which will definitely help out with the benchmarks.

First of all, I ran BioShock infinite medium settings, and so are 35 frames per second average now the 1% in 10.1% lows, respectively.

What, 27 25?

Which tells us that there really wasn't all that much stutter.

There will be some areas of the map where this will occur, but overall it was a pretty smooth experience in C.

S, Cho said everything too low and once again run the game at 900 p to see an average of 81 frames per second.

Now the footage on screen granted was taken from a boat match, but the figures were actually taken from an online game in dust, too.

And I have to say that there were one or two moments off stutter.

This happened literally after I spawned on another time later on just totally randomly.

But that accounts for that low 0.1% figure there.

The next game I tried is also a pretty old one.

By now, it's 2000 thirteen's Tomb Raider again.

This run it 900 p with the normal in game preset and actually did the best out of today's results.

Apart from C S go with 53 frames on average, those 1% on 10.1% lows came in at 43 41 again, just like BioShock infinite, indicating that there really wasn't much started to speak off.

These figures were taken from the benchmark test, but having jumped into the game shortly afterwards, I can safely say that once again it did average around 50 frames per second, so you won't have a hard time running that game on a system like this, a new game I've added to the benchmark tests and one I've been meaning to play for ages is outlast.

Now at 900 p with the medium settings this run it 33 frames per second, both inside and outside off the building.

This is a pretty fun one, but a very scary one at the same time.

But those are GB lights will definitely keep you company and stop you being a scared if you're playing this in the dark, which is good by now, the fan was starting to really get quite loud.

So I thought, Why not quickly pushed this thing to its limit with a couple of newer titles, starting with fallout for here, I had to turn it down to 7 20 Peter achieved 30 frames per second on bumping up the resolution or even just one setting.

Slightly higher really did impact the frame rate.

And I had to turn things all the way down just to keep that solid 30 average.

As you can see by those other figures, there was a little bit of static here and there, but nothing too significant.

And I could probably happily play fallout for on the system finally in dirt.

For once again, it's 7 20 p.

I had to turn things down to low with the ultra low in game preset to achieve 42 frames per second.

Now, if you wanted to turn the settings up here, you could probably get away with Low.

But know that you'd be running at about 30 to 35 frames per second.

On that, 30 frames per 2nd may turn to 25 in some of the more action packed races where there are more opponents.

A cz well, so the native 900 piece screen resolution really benefited the games, though newer titles needed to be dropped to 7 20 p.

In order to run smoothly, you'll always be paying more for laptops than you will desktops for the same performance, regardless as to whether or not the brand name adds an extra premium like it does here, Amal I would wholeheartedly recommend building a desktop PC with used parts instead.

If you need or want a secondhand laptop, that complaint those older or easier to run games and don't mind sacrificing silence, cornice and portability for something that looks pretty beastie than an old only and where might just be for you, but it's totally dependent on the price you pay for what's inside.

Always remember to research specs, look up original reviews and check out the prices of similar models.

If you want to shop for one of these yourselves, that being said, if you ignore the gaming aspect, then you'll still have a pretty great everyday performer.

But I don't know anyone who bought a gaming laptop to benchmark Microsoft Power Point.

Finally, let's say you do own one of these models or are about to buy one.

And like me, you wouldn't mind seeing a little extra performance.

Is there any room for upgrade?

Well, so off the ram in this model is at maximum capacity without gigabytes, but the ice seven can be swapped out for anything up to and including the 29 20 x m extreme edition, which really is an expensive as it sounds.

But the graphics card, the weakest component, is embedded on the motherboard, so it can't be replaced.

It's a shame, as this is by far the weakest link in this model, so you'd have to rely on using an external GPU like I've done before with other laptops to improve gaming performance.

Perhaps I'll give that a go sometime and see how good that old I seven really is.

To conclude, if you want to play games on a £250 or $320 budget, then you would absolutely be better off building a secondhand parts based desktop.

You see if you want a laptop on the same budget, though, and don't care all that much about modern Triple eight titles and how they run, then why not go for one of these?

If you can find it at a decent price, speaking exclusively of this model right here and I've really enjoyed my time with it and we'll continue to do so.

It's not much of a game or anymore, but it's got character, and it's allowed me to cross a childhood ambition of owning an alien wear off of my list.

Plus, it's still fast enough to be a great everyday machine if I'm away from home.

So guys, there we have it.

This has been a look back at an old alien where laptop and hopefully I've helped you decide as to whether or not You should buy one of these in 2000 and 18.

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